Formula E

Formula E shareholders include Selim Fouad and Warner Bros. Discovery . [ 10 ] As of 2024, Formula E’s founder and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag is the company’s Chairman, and the Chief Executive Officer is Jeff Dodds . [ 11 ]

Formula E, like most other major motorsport series, currently has races that have a certain lap distance set. Also, for every four laps that are spent under full course yellow or the safety car, an additional lap of racing is added to the race length.

Since the all-weather tyres are designed to last for a whole race, pit stops are only needed to change a punctured tyre or perform repairs on the car.

The first-ever Formula E race held on a full-length racetrack configuration of a circuit designed for other racing leagues, or in fact a longer one than the main configuration, was the 2023 Portland ePrix at the Portland International Raceway . [ 26 ]

Points are awarded to the top ten drivers using the standard FIA system (25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1). The driver securing the pole position is also awarded 3 points, while the driver setting the fastest lap (if they finish in the top ten) additionally receives 1 point (2 points during the first two seasons). In addition, for season six and seven (2019–21) the driver achieving the fastest lap during group qualifying was awarded 1 point. [ 27 ] The championship consists of both a drivers' and teams'...

In Season 9, a new feature known as Attack Charge was set to be introduced in a few races later in the season, however, due to the need to solve issues with the Gen3 car's new batteries, the production of the fast chargers was delayed, and as a result, after criticisms from the teams about shifting to a new race format midway through the season, the debut of Attack Charge was pushed back. [ 31 ]

This first Formula E car had a power of at least 190 kilowatts (250 hp). The car was able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 3 seconds, with a maximum speed of 225 km/h (140 mph). [ 37 ] The generators used to re-charge the batteries are powered by glycerine , a by-product of bio-diesel production. [ 38 ]

In the first season, all teams used an electric motor developed by McLaren (the same as that used in its P1 supercar ). But since the second season, powertrain manufacturers could build their own electric motor, inverter, gearbox and cooling system although the chassis and battery stayed the same. There were nine manufacturers creating powertrains for the 2016–17 season: ABT Schaeffler, Andretti Technologies, DS-Virgin, Jaguar, Mahindra , NextEV TCR, Penske, Renault, and Venturi. [ 39 ]

The Gen3 Formula E car was unveiled to the public at the 2022 Monaco ePrix , for use in the ninth Formula E season (2022–23) onwards. Power levels for the car are 350 kW in qualifying and 300 kW in the race, while regeneration is allowed on both front (250 kW) and rear (350 kW) axles for a maximum of 600 kW recovery under braking. Regenerative braking could provide 40% of the total energy used within a race.

The estimated top speed is 322 km/h (200 mph). [ 45 ] The battery is also designed to be able to handle "ultra-fast charging" at rates of up to 600 kW, [ 46 ] allowing pitstop recharging into the championship for the first time. [ 47 ] The wheelbase has been reduced from 3100 mm to 2970 mm and the weight reduced to 760 kg.

Spark Racing Technology builds the chassis and supplies the front axle MGU, Williams Advanced Engineering supplies the battery, and Hankook supplies all-weather tyres incorporating bio-material and sustainable rubber. [ 48 ]

The development of the Gen4 era of Formula E is already underway, with the extensive GenEVO programme, the championship’s development car. The intention is to introduce the new Gen4 car into the championship from Season 13 (2026–27) for the Gen4 era. [ 49 ]

Teams and manufacturers are already expressing interest in the Gen4 era, with the idea that many of the current championship teams will sign for all four years. Jaguar Racing is advancing in the field of Gen4 cars with by setting up a specialised Mechatronics unit under the supervision of Muin Ahmad, who recently lead the development of twin battery system of Formula E Cars. [ 50 ]

The calendar consisted of 11 races held in 10 different host cities: Beijing , Putrajaya , Punta del Este , Buenos Aires , Long Beach , Miami , Monte Carlo , Berlin , Moscow and finally London , where last two rounds of the championship took place.

The first Formula E race at the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit on 13 September 2014 was won by Lucas Di Grassi , after Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost crashed out on the final corner. In the course of the season, there were 7 different race winners: Sébastien Buemi (three times), Sam Bird (twice), Nelson Piquet Jr. (twice), António Félix da Costa , Nicolas Prost , Jérôme d'Ambrosio and Lucas Di Grassi .

The second season of Formula E started in October 2015 and ended in early July 2016. The calendar consisted of 10 races in 9 different cities. For this season eight manufacturers were introduced, who were allowed to develop new powertrains. Sébastien Buemi won the championship with only 2 points more than Lucas di Grassi by claiming the fastest lap in the final race in London .

After a difficult first half of the season, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler improved in the second half and passed Techeetah at the final race to claim the teams' championship by two points. [ 58 ]

The Gen2 race car was introduced for season five with significantly improved power and range, thus eliminating the need to change cars and pit stops altogether except for damage. However, cars are still vulnerable to power exhaustions if red flags and safety cars lengthen races. Gen2 also saw the introduction of the halo driver protection system. [ 59 ] The car was unveiled in January 2018. [ 60 ]

The 2019 Hong Kong ePrix was the 50th race of Formula E since its inception in 2014. Formula E raced in 20 cities, across five continents, seen 13 global manufactures commit to the series. Four drivers have started all 50 Formula E races: Lucas di Grassi , Sam Bird , Daniel Abt and Jérôme d'Ambrosio . [ 63 ]

For the sixth season of Formula E, two more manufacturers joined the series: Mercedes-Benz and Porsche . [ 66 ] [ 67 ] A number of rule changes were introduced to the championship, most notably the deduction of usable energy under safety car and Full Course Yellow conditions, with drivers having energy subtracted at 1kW⋅h per minute. [ 68 ] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the championship was suspended in March 2020 and all scheduled races were eventually cancelled. [ 69 ] The season was completed ...

The season's champion was António Félix da Costa who clinched his first title with two races left. DS Techeetah became team champions for the second time in a row. [ 71 ]

The season ended in August 2021 with 15 races. Nyck de Vries claimed his first world champion title after winning two races, while Mercedes-EQ won the teams' championship. [ 75 ]

Pit stops were originally also supposed to make a return to the series (in the form of Attack Charge ) which was set to be trialed at select races, however the introduction of this race format was delayed to the 2023–24 season and beyond, after several issues with the new car's batteries came up before the season, which caused delays in the production of the fast chargers.

Originally also, in at least two races, each team would have to field a driver with no previous Formula E experience in the first practice session. However, after teams criticized this rule, the series then decided that instead as a compromise, they would hold two rookie test sessions, one being after the doubleheader Berlin ePrix, and the other being before the doubleheader Rome ePrix.

The calendar Season 10 was announced in November 2023, featuring new venues Misano , Shanghai , and a world-first race held in the streets of Tokyo, Japan, with Portland expanding to a double-header. [ 79 ]

Attack Charge was scheduled to be introduced starting at the Misano ePrix . [ 80 ] This new feature would have seen drivers take a mandatory pit stop in a specific window during the race, during which the car would have been recharged to award drivers two attack mode boosts and an extra 4 kWh (14.4 MJ) of energy throughout the rest of the race. [ 81 ] This feature was originally planned to be introduced in season 9 , but after delays in production of the fast charging units it was postponed unti...

The calendar of Season 11 features new venues in Jeddah and Miami, and the return of the Jakarta ePrix, with Monaco and Tokyo expanding to double-headers.

The calendar of Season 12 features new venues in Miami and Madrid. [ 83 ]

In 2019, the Virtually Live Ghost Racing app was launched. It allows fans to virtually drive alongside the real drivers as the race is going on. [ 84 ] In 2020, during the season suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic , Formula E held an esport series called Race at Home Challenge . [ 85 ] In 2021, Formula E introduced a new series called Formula E: Accelerate using the online game rFactor 2 . The first season of six races was held between January and March 2021. All Formula E teams participate...

Up until Season 9 , the world feed was presented frequently by Jack Nicholls and Dario Franchitti , with Nicki Shields acting as pit lane reporter. However, just before the 2023 Jakarta ePrix, Nicholls was fired after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, and Ben Edwards , who had already done motorsport commentary for 3 decades, replaced him in the commentary booth from Jakarta ePrix until the Portland ePrix. Later that season, Tom Brooks, known as "the Voice of Gran Turismo " b...

Nicki Shields will anchor Formula E's English Language Programming for Season 11 , alongside tenacious racing driver Billy Monger , rally driver Catie Munnings , and an expert lineup which will include David Coulthard , Karun Chandhok , Andre Lotterer , James Rossiter , and Allan McNish for Season 11.

Alexa Rendell, and Saunders-Carmichael Brown will serve as pit lane reporters. [ 98 ]

The first round in Brazil also featured Ben Edwards . It is currently unknown if he will be presenting in future sessions and rounds. [ 99 ]

Formula E debuted its own documentary series, called 'Unplugged' on 22 November 2021, which was similar to Formula One 's Netflix Drive to Survive series. The series gave a behind-the-scenes look on every driver’s journey through the 2020–21 season . Unplugged returned for a second season in March 2023, showcasing the 2021–22 season , and for a third season in January 2024 showcasing the 2022–23 season . [ 101 ]